Federer has beaten del Potro all six times they have met this season, though he was pushed to his limits on Centre Court at Wimbledon in August. Federer won 19-17 in the decisive third set.

"I'm excited to see how he is going to come out and play," Federer said of Sunday's final. "We have had a couple of tough ones, at the French Open and particularly at the Olympics. I had a really hard time breaking his serve. The margins are extremely small."

Del Potro let a two-set lead slip in their quarterfinal at Roland Garros, and took the first set at the Olympics before losing the second on a tiebreaker.

"I was close in the Olympics and French Open but I never beat him this year," said the eight-ranked del Potro, who rebounded from the tough Olympics loss to win his bronze-medal match. "He has all the shots. He's a very, very complete player."

Federer, chasing his sixth title in seven years at his hometown event, fired 10 aces and never allowed 101st-ranked Mathieu a break-point chance.

Excellent anticipation at the net put Federer into position to hit a volleyed winner to create two set points in the first. He clinched with a forehand winner.

Federer moved his opponent around the court in the final game before putting away an overhead to earn match point, and sealed his victory when Mathieu netted a two-handed backhand.

Federer has a 13-2 career record against del Potro, though one of the Argentinian's victories came in the 2009 U.S Open final. A wrist injury then wrecked his 2010 season.

Del Potro, who won the Vienna title last week, said his play against Gasquet was "almost perfection. Now I have to play better tomorrow if I want to win this tournament."

His eighth ace sealed his 61st victory of the season, a career best. Del Potro improved to 16-1 on indoor hard courts in 2012, with his only loss coming against Federer in the Rotterdam final in February.